A man who is studying for human rights reported that the state of freedom of expression in conclusion not there. The government monitors anything and everything that goes through the press to make sure they can control the information being gave out to their community. Any "independent" media sources are continuously getting attacked or even being sent to jail like the Swazi editor and the human rights lawyer. An observer of the princess and all of the royal family wrote an article about a specific piece of clothing that she wore underneath her attire. This attire apparently means that she may have found a spousal partner or that she is now very respected. Most of the media that gets broadcasted is censored and if you go against the censorship and face jail time. The king of Swaziland made the journalist publicly apologize, which shows that journalists definitely can be the victims of censorship. All of these examples show how there are many examples of censorship in Swaziland.
Map of Swaziland
Government and Constitution
Although section 24 in the Swaziland constitution states guaranteed freedom of expression and freedom of the press, the king is still having to go over every thing that gets put into the world of the media.Swaziland is Africa's last absolute monarchy. King Mswati III has ruled the small country with its one million inhabitants since 1986. In 1973, Mswati's father Sobhuza II banned all political parties and declared a state of emergency, which is still in place today. The king governs the country's 55 administrative divisions, known as Tikhundla, through its chiefs. (Swaziland)
Swaziland King, Mswati III
Current Situations
The Swazi economy is currently doing terrible with 40% of the working people unemployed. This makes for angry people which does not help the country. Swazi media content is marked by a high level of both official censorship and self-censorship on political and royal matters. In 2010, Prime Minister Barnabas Sibusiso Dlamini announced his intention to require columnists to seek state permission before criticizing the government. The prime minister also accused critical journalists of being paid by foreigners to tarnish the country’s image.
Freedom of Press
Judge Mpendulo Simelane took advantage of this using Section 24 of Swaziland's Constitution which guarantees the freedom of expression and freedom of the press can be overridden by judges. He believes just because reporters have the power to be able to talk about they want, they shouldn't be allowed to right whatever they want, and they should only write certain things. In a ruling in which he convicted a magazine editor and a writer of contempt of court, Judge Simelane said, 'No one has the right to attack a judge or the Courts under the disguise of the right of freedom of expression.' He said this was 'because it is in the public interest that the authority and dignity of the Court is maintained'.
This ruling has been criticized all over the world for its injustice towards these men facing sentencing.
Swaziland Newspaper
Limits
Now Swaziland is being limited to their press and political parties are being banned. Political leaders were forced to close a leading newspaper in Swaziland due to the paper reporting on government dissension, according to media reports.
Political parties are banned, and press freedoms are limited. The government not allowing complete freedom of speech is their normal and many other countries have the same laws. To us this is unconstitutional but for them this is their normal/
Works Cited:
1."King Forces Newspaper Apology [opinion]." All Africa 15 Sept. 2014. General
Swaziland
Victims of Censorship
A man who is studying for human rights reported that the state of freedom of expression in conclusion not there. The government monitors anything and everything that goes through the press to make sure they can control the information being gave out to their community. Any "independent" media sources are continuously getting attacked or even being sent to jail like the Swazi editor and the human rights lawyer. An observer of the princess and all of the royal family wrote an article about a specific piece of clothing that she wore underneath her attire. This attire apparently means that she may have found a spousal partner or that she is now very respected. Most of the media that gets broadcasted is censored and if you go against the censorship and face jail time. The king of Swaziland made the journalist publicly apologize, which shows that journalists definitely can be the victims of censorship. All of these examples show how there are many examples of censorship in Swaziland.
Government and Constitution
Although section 24 in the Swaziland constitution states guaranteed freedom of expression and freedom of the press, the king is still having to go over every thing that gets put into the world of the media. Swaziland is Africa's last absolute monarchy. King Mswati III has ruled the small country with its one million inhabitants since 1986. In 1973, Mswati's father Sobhuza II banned all political parties and declared a state of emergency, which is still in place today. The king governs the country's 55 administrative divisions, known as Tikhundla, through its chiefs. (Swaziland)
Current Situations
The Swazi economy is currently doing terrible with 40% of the working people unemployed. This makes for angry people which does not help the country. Swazi media content is marked by a high level of both official censorship and self-censorship on political and royal matters. In 2010, Prime Minister Barnabas Sibusiso Dlamini announced his intention to require columnists to seek state permission before criticizing the government. The prime minister also accused critical journalists of being paid by foreigners to tarnish the country’s image.
Freedom of Press
Judge Mpendulo Simelane took advantage of this using Section 24 of Swaziland's Constitution which guarantees the freedom of expression and freedom of the press can be overridden by judges. He believes just because reporters have the power to be able to talk about they want, they shouldn't be allowed to right whatever they want, and they should only write certain things. In a ruling in which he convicted a magazine editor and a writer of contempt of court, Judge Simelane said, 'No one has the right to attack a judge or the Courts under the disguise of the right of freedom of expression.' He said this was 'because it is in the public interest that the authority and dignity of the Court is maintained'.
This ruling has been criticized all over the world for its injustice towards these men facing sentencing.
Limits
Now Swaziland is being limited to their press and political parties are being banned. Political leaders were forced to close a leading newspaper in Swaziland due to the paper reporting on government dissension, according to media reports.
Political parties are banned, and press freedoms are limited. The government not allowing complete freedom of speech is their normal and many other countries have the same laws. To us this is unconstitutional but for them this is their normal/
Works Cited:
1."King Forces Newspaper Apology [opinion]." All Africa 15 Sept. 2014. General
2. "Swaziland: Africa′s last absolute monarchy". Deutsche Welle. 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2014-10-19.
3. "Swaziland Newspaper Ordered To Close".
NOTES FROM MR FISHON
THIS IS AN ENGLISH PROJECT - YOU TYPE IN LOWER CASE LIKE THIS IS A TEXT MESSAGE! NOOOOO!
EVERYTHING YOU HAVE A WAAAAAY TOO SHORT. YOU WRITE OF A ROYAL FAMILY, BUT YOU NEVER ESTABLISH THE TYPE OF GOVERNMENT IN SWAZILAND.
WHERE ARE YOUR CITATIONS?
WORKS CITED
DO NOT POSE QUESTIONS - YOUR JOB IS TO INFORM PEOPLE - USE INFORMATION YOU HAVE LEARNED.
ARTWORK?
YOU DON'T GIVE SPECIFIC EXAMPLES FOR ANY OF YOUR SECTIONS.
THIS IS A MAJOR GRADE - RIGHT NOW, THIS DOESN"t REFLECT THE WEEKS WE HAVE HAD FOR THIS PROJECT.